Rock County, WisconsinBiographies"John McFarland Kessinger" |
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MAJOR JOHN McFARLAND KESSINGER Unlike the majority of the soldiers in Vietnam, John Kessinger was a career Officer in the US Army. Born in 1933, he was in his 30's when he went to Vietnam in late 1966, and had been in the Army for over 10 years. John's training and expertise would put him in a unique position while in Vietnam and into a Unit that is not well-known or understood. In the early part of the war, the high US Command had created a huge force called MACV - Military Assistance Command-Vietnam. This was broken down to include the infamous Special Forces Units, Special Operations (covert) forces, and Advisors. Maj. Kessinger fell into the 'Advisor' category. Parallel to the US infantry troops who were out on search and destroy missions everyday, the US also had Units in every Province to work with the South Vietnamese. Called Advisor Teams, each base camp would consist of a Military Unit which would train the SVN troops, provide security around the area, teach them military tactics, and how to use various weapons we were supplying them at the time. Colocated, but under a different command structure were the US Civilians--usually from the State Department--who would teach the So Vietnamese agricultural techniques, fire, police, and general Government designs. As time went on, military personnel would be placed into this latter group (in civilian clothes), and along with CIA personnel would take part in the covert Phoenix Program. It is important to note that these soldiers were basically cut off from their other fellow soldiers within the area. They worked daily with the trained ARVN troops and helped develop the "Popular Force" troops of farmers and other VN civilians. Each team would have their own helicopter pilots, artillery bases, and they in turn would train the Vietnamese pilots. Only in rare instances would they be allowed to use US fighting forces for battles and troubles they encountered. By July, 1967, John had been in Vietnam for 7 months and a Senior Advisor in the Sector with overall command. According to men with him, he was a rather quiet, friendly soldier that was inclined to move cautiously and think things through before implementing the much needed missions. Directly under him was Capt. Fedele Cicero, a stocky, jolly, soldier from Chicago. Together they would act as a check- and-balance team to ensure success and strengthen the Vietnamese. But they would fall prey to a cardinal rule of survival--don't have a routine. Every Sunday, Maj. Kessinger and Capt. Cicero would drive from their outpost to Rach Kien, VN for briefings. The times of the day would vary, but it was always on a Sunday of each week. Over time, it wouldn't take the enemy long to figure out what to do. On July 2, the two Officers, along with their Radio Operator SP4 Mark Everett of Bellingham, WA, had finished their weekly briefing and were enroute back to their camp. The enemy had tied two 105mm rockets together and laid in-wait. As their jeep neared a turn in the road, the VC manually detonated the booby-trap. All three were killed instantly, creating a major disruption within the Team organization. Throughout Vietnam, these Advisors were constantly hunted down and systematically killed by the North Vietnamese yet their stories are of the fewest that have been documented. Background information on these brave soldiers can be found at www.Counterparts.net. Major John M. Kessinger's name is on the Vietnam Wall at Panel 22E, line 106. Courtesy of Bruce Swander |
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